The NBA season is just a week old but former Vol Grant Williams has already found himself in the headlines. Williams was ejected from the Charlotte Hornets 124-109 loss against the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
Officials deemed a dirty foul by Williams on Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum a Flagrant II foul which automatically led to an ejection.
Grant Williams was ejected for this flagrant foul two on Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/HtTggDbsnn
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“I think it’s more so that he didn’t see me, more than anything else,” Williams said following the game. “I definitely made contact with the body before I reached. Probably a hard foul. Definitely not intentional. Not trying to hurt him by any means. That’s one of my closest friends in the league. As you could see, he got up and was walking away and I got up afterwards and raised my hand like I thought it was a foul. JB (Jaylen Brown) kind of escalated it but I know he was just trying to protect his teammate.”
As Williams alluded to, the two were big buddies during his four seasons with the Celtics to begin his career. While Williams personality isn’t for everyone, he and Tatum got along well over the years.
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However, this wasn’t the first instance of a hard foul between the two since Williams has left Boston. Tatum hit Williams in the head on a half court shot last season when he was still with the Dallas Mavericks.
Grant Williams was just trying to get revengeπ pic.twitter.com/STTl053Rjy
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“That’s my dawg no matter what,” Williams said of Tatum. “Didn’t mean to try toβ he’ll take it fine. He’ll text me later tonight. It wasn’t on purpose.”
Through five games this season, Williams is averaging 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The wing is shooting 44% from the field and 46% from three-point range early this season. The former two-time SEC Player of the Year is coming off the most productive year of his career when he averaged 13.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Williams and Hornets return to the court on Saturday night against the Boston Celtics again as the second game of a back-to-back.
